“Go away!” she blurts out, sounding constricted and agitated.
“Do you need some help?” I ask, trying not to sound too amused.
“I said, go away!”
Walking slowly over to the window, I lean against the frame and peek out into the crisp night air, looking down.
There is a reason this particular window doesn’t have security bars—because it leads nowhere. Well, not nowhere exactly. It leads to a small alcove where the air-conditioning unit is stored neatly out of sight. It’s a cramped space. And once you’ve jumped down into it, which you aren’t supposed to do, you can’t get back up without a ladder or someone to pull you up.
I lean over and peer into the dark space, lit only by the bedroom light spilling over my shoulder.
Below me, I see her fidgeting, shifting, wiggling, and making a lot of groaning and grunting noises of frustration.
“Do you need a hand?” I ask softly.
She jumps and glares up at me. “I told you to go away. I’ll just go to….” She shoves at the unit’s metal box.
“Yes?”
“I’m going to move this…” she shoves it again. It doesn’t budge.
Taking pity on her, I lean into the gap and offer her my hand.
Her simmering eyes stare up at me. First with anger, then with breaking resilience. She takes my hand, and with a firm grip on her wrist, I lift her with ease from the small space and back into the bedroom. Her whole body is shivering from the cold.
She stumbles away from me, angry and dusting her clothes off. “What kind of stupid design is that!” she demands, looking up at me with her lower lip pouted out. Fuck it, she’s actually so cute when she’s mad.
“It’s designed to be accessed from the lower floors, not from above.” My eyes trace over her petite figure. She’s like a little bird, fragile, delicate. I want to wrap my arms around her and pull her close.
“Well, it’s stupid!” she snaps. Her attitude, however, is not like a little bird, and there is nothing delicate or fragile about it.
I bite my lip to hide the smirk threatening to spread over my face.
“Your pizza is getting cold,” I say, changing the subject to ease her embarrassment.
“I don’t care,” she snaps.
“Athena, it was a good escape attempt. But don’t go hungry because it failed.”
“Oh sure, mock me,” she mutters. “Thatis a safety hazard!”
“Are you going to sue me?” I can’t help chuckling this time.
“Get out!” she snaps.
I raise my hands. “I was only teasing. Come on…”
“Get out!” she demands again. She marches toward me as though trying to intimidate me, which only makes my smile wider. I keep my hands held up in defense as I walk backward, retreating. “Alright, alright.” Her long chocolate hair is wild about her shoulders, a little knotted from her escapades. She looks tussled. And fucking sexy.
“Out!” she snaps again.
This time I oblige. Leaving her with her pizza and her solitude in the bedroom, she has no way of escaping. She slamsthe door behind me as soon as I cross the threshold. My smile widens even more. Oh, she is a hot little potato.
I’m going to have to tread carefully with her if I want to help her settle into her new life.
I head downstairs to get my own dinner. My head is full of thoughts, all of her.
It probably wouldn’t be the best idea to tell her she’s gorgeous when she’s angry.
